Wednesday, November 30, 2011

No One Likes Me



If you check out the today's posts over on KevinMD,  you'll notice that Kevin picked up my post on the ethical dilemma of the college student and the internship application.  You'll also notice that the post was tweeted 37 times, and that no one "likes" it on their Facebook page.  The story on the Therapeutic Value of Touch got 56 "Likes" and the Art of Alzheimer's got 26 "Likes."  My story is alone in it's unlikability.

And now that you mention it, our posts on Shrink Rap don't have many Likes and our fan page doesn't have very many fans/friends.


You know, I would take it personally, but when we first put the page out, one of our readers mentioned that if they "Liked" a psychiatry book, all their friends would see and would wonder why.  Is it true?  I don't think too hard about what other people "Like" but for the non-stop political stuff.  But then again, I have a socially acceptable reason to "Like" a Shrink Rap book (--I think, my kids would probably say it's bragging to like your own book).  So maybe people don't "Like" shrinky stuff because they don't want to worry about the message it sends and the questions this might open, either aloud or in the viewers head.  Or maybe I just write boring stuff and this is my way of defending my ego against demoralization.

Just in case you're wondering, 262 people "Liked" my Analysis of the Angry Birds addiction when it was posted on KevinMD.  Maybe that was a safer "Like."  But who's counting?

16 comments:

rob lindeman said...

I'd rather be right than be liked.

wv = stteedn. That one's a mess, I won't even TRY to come up with a definition!

Anonymous said...

Yeah, don't worry - as a 25 year old, I feel qualified to say that liking things on facebook is NO measure WHATSOEVER of how much people actually like them. It's a measure of how socially acceptable it is / how much social cache you get from the association.

So I guess what I'm saying is, yeah, the stigma against psychiatry is alive and well.

Liz said...

hello shrinkrap: we feel the same over at pocketshrink

http://pocketshrink.blogspot.com

Anne said...

Ha - angry birds is far less threatening then whether or not to disclose mental illness. Also, I seem to recall that particular post was a seriously annoying post because, although I'm sure it was true, it did not really seem to fit with reality.

I'd also say that if I was going to like a post, it would have to be exceptionally well written or thought out. That post was mediocre, ish. I'd also venture a point that shrinkrap is not particularly visually appealing or sophisticated. I still check it out a few times a week and often enjoy some of the content, but it's not "up there" when compared to many other sites.

Frenetic said...

As a psych patient - I LOVE YOUR BLOG! But yes, in general I would not "like" a psychiatric book and have it pop up on my Facebook page. I have had supportive and nonsupportive people. It is not fun having someone feel awkward and uncomfortable when you disclose your mental illness. I suppose I am too vulnerable. I agree with"apotential" the stigma against psychiatry IS alive and well.

Anonymous said...

I dunno, maybe I'm confused about the "like" thing. If I click "like" on something someone has written about Alzheimer's what am I liking? Alzheimers? The article? I generally click "like" on things that are funny or happy.

wv = golod. I need to golod the dishwasher.

Leslie

Anonymous said...

Hmm, so apparently it was all a technical error and Kevin has emailed me that 20 people "Liked" the post. Oh, but it was so fun to look for pics of Charlie Brown and to write a post called Nobody Likes Me....

Dinah

Retriever said...

Well, you know I LOVE the blog and link to you often. I just hate Facebook and only keep my name on it so that people like my old supervisor, the hip nun, can find me after losing her address book.

Knot Telling said...

I'm too old to really understand Facebook. I joined to keep up with a specific group of friends who exchange witty and/or snarky remarks and share pictures of grandkids, amazing food and recent travels.

But I "liked" this post. Not a pity "like" (if there is such a thing); I liked the frankness of it. Until now, I had no idea people counted the likes.

C said...

Facebook is like the breakroom. Don't "like" something unless you don't care if it spreads outside your close circle of people you trust. My mom's on Facebook now, and I've already gotten this phone call, "I think you shouldn't have said that on Facebook. Now people are going to be asking if everything is okay." I may have overreacted to that phone call. Haha

wv = illiest - is that a flower? an ilius? or actually illiest?

P.S. I'm glad that Kevin's site was off and you really are liked. I like your site - just not on Facebook. :-D

Daedra said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Daedra said...

I just realized that your posts have a like button. :P I've linked to your posts before, but I will now "like" them since that is easier.

I can see how some might have trouble with "liking" a psychiatric website/book, particularly if they have unsupportive family members and friends. Were I not a medical student, I think some of my family members might become needlessly alarmed at me "liking" pages with psychiatric topics. People are nosy and like to make a lot of assumptions about what they see on facebook (at least this is the case with my relations).

Carrie said...

I can't scroll down this page without wondering if you may have seen an Angry Birds pillow in hallmark and other stores and commented that perhaps you'd like one? I've done this!

Dinah said...

But I would not like an Angry Bird pillow.

Carrie said...

Jason says they're cool but no. I guess we're past the point of owning cool cartoon pillows. *sigh* :)

Idy said...

Liking stuff on Facebook is dicey, and unless it has a happy ending, I'd rather "recommend" or "share" than "like".

I also never saw the "like" button on the site, but now I'll like stuff more.

The stigma is indeed, alive & well fed; there doesn't seem to be an end to the "why?" I get when I say I want to specialise in Child Psychiatry.